Texas Democrat Al Green was thrown out of Donald Trump’s State of Union address on Tuesday after holding up a placard protesting the President.
Green held up a sign reading, ‘Black people aren’t apes,’ in reference to a recent social media post Trump made featuring an AI video depicting Barrack and Michelle Obama as primates.
Trump carried on walking down the aisle as GOP Senators Markwayne Mullin and Roger Marshall swiftly walked over and stood in front of Green to block his sign.
Green, a long-serving member of the Congressional Black Caucus, was swiftly ushered out of the House Chamber as Republican lawmakers erupted in heckles.
Trump’s arrival was otherwise smooth as he delivers a landmark congressional speech to reset his agenda ahead of the midterms in November.
The President is staring down the barrel of his lowest approval numbers with the economy and his immigration crackdown at the top of voter grievance lists.
Trump’s speech focused on his domestic accomplishments following his first-year in office, including a rate payer pledge to keep energy prices down amid soaring costs due to AI data centers.
The President also touted his TrumpRx initiative to deliver affordable pharmaceuticals to American families.
U.S. Rep. Al Green holds a sign which reads, ‘Black people aren’t apes’ as Donald Trump arrives to deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday
Republican lawmakers surround Al Green as he holds a sign protesting the president
Green is ushered out of the House Chamber holding his incendiary sign
Republican lawmakers swat down Green’s placard
Green engages in a tug of war with furious Republicans trying to snatch his sign
Trump carries on walking as Green holds up his protest sign
Green holds up his, ‘Black people aren’t apes’ sign, a referennce to a recent social media post Trump made about the Obamas
Green’s protest came after Trump sparked outrage on February 5 when he shared a video about voter fraud which included a short clip at the end showing the Obamas as apes.
The 62-second video, part of a late-night posting spree on Truth Social, featured a two-second segment where the former president and first lady’s faces were superimposed onto the bodies of primates to the song ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight.’
The White House initially attempted to downplay the post, with Karoline Leavitt dismissing the backlash as ‘fake outrage’ and labeling the clip an innocent meme.
But the administration swiftly blamed it on a junior staffer after outcry from senior Republicans, including Senator Tim Scott, who called it ‘the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.’
By midday, the post was deleted – a rare admission of a misstep.
Trump later explained that he had no idea that the video featured the AI clip at the end.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, he claimed he had only watched the beginning of the video, which focused on his 2020 election fraud claims, and passed it onto his team.
While he stated he condemned the racism in the clip, he refused to apologize, stating that one of his staffers had failed to check it before posting.
